For Those Considering A Career In Nursing

As always, beautifully stated! Your posts are always so interesting that I wish I knew you and could talk to you in person, to hear more of your great stories and wisdom.
I really enjoyed reading this! The last paragraph actually brought tears to my eyes (happy ones ofcourse!) I'm so excited, proud and blessed to finally be part of this career field You have made me look foward to my future as a nurse even more. Thank you for your post
Hmm...Patient weight is 90Kg, 90*2.5 = 562.5 mg: 562.5/2 = 281.25 mg or 282 mg BID.Being male (and quite hetero, TYVM), I'd say it's unlikely I'll meet my "husband" in nursing.My late mother was an LVN for 15 years; between her stories and acting as her caregiver for the last 4 years of her life, I've no illusions about what I'm getting myself into. Incidentally, IT has just as wacky a schedule at times - so far my longest "shift" was 71 hours straight. Fewer bodily fluids, though.Closest thing to a concern I have is that I'm just not going to have the raw speed & fast reflexes of a 20 y.o. (I'm 49); just hoping I can substitute brains (better time management/prioritization skills + plenty of practice in dealing with interruptions) for brawn and make it all happen.And, it's still a calling for me - although in my case it's a lot closer to a raving mania.Thanks for sharing, and...bring it awn, baby!----- Dave
Wonderful reading!
Great article Ruby! There aren't very many of us who can be called those seventies nurses, so I really appreciate your perspective.
Ruby, this should be required reading before applying to nursing school! Wonderful article.
I love it! It really lays it out. I love the part about the people who think they are too special to work holidays. The wonderful thing is, every nurse has his or her own stories, and they are all variations on the same thing: life, people, the good, bad & the ugly. (& remember that television is pure fantasy, & usually male fantasy).... except I love Home Health. But I can understand those who shudder. I think it just adds another layer of complexity (with all the positive & negative that entails).Somehow, I hope every person going into nursing school can be exposed to this article. I think we would then see a lot fewer articles about all the qualified RNs who aren't/ can't/ won't work at it.
Eloquent as usual Ruby.......I think this should be posted somewhere for all the students who post those.....should I be a nurse questions.. I think this will become a new go to link for me!!!
First, I would like to applaud your post. I have wanted to be a nurse since high school but ever since I have mentioned the profession, my parents have shown great disdain for it. From telling me that it is a dirty job to how disrespected you get as a nurse, they have always tried to dissuade me!However...When my mom had food poisoning, I was there. When my dad got his pacemaker put in, I spent the night. I do not have to defend my passion for nursing to them anymore. It's funny because it was never the long shifts or the contact with bodily fluids that would deter me. It was witnessing suffering or death. Many times when I would see it on the news or through my parents I would get so stressed and upset. Something I've realized, though, is that if you want to help people you will see suffering and may experience death. I've finally accepted (what was to me) the hardest part of the job. As I pursue nursing, I can only hope to have as many years of experience as you do and to pick up the half of the wisdom you have.
Fabulous post! I very much appreciate the considerable amount of thought and time that I know you put into it. Unfortunately, the people we need to heed this are the very ones whose heads it will fly over. They may read it, but they're so into their perception of what a nurse is that they'll unconsciously reject anything that doesn't align with the image.The sentiments in this post need to be crafted into a checklist form that all aspiring nursing students have to read and sign off on. Nursing programs used to conduct interviews of applicants, or at the least, require essays from them about the reasons they wanted to go to nursing school. Admissions committees could get an idea of whether a hopeful student's expectations were within shouting distance of reality. But even essays are a thing of the past, with more and more programs moving to rolling admissions, in which academic qualifications, emotional maturity, and classwork ethic take a back seat to the speed with which a student can submit his/her application. It's a great post!! Many thanks for sharing it with us.
Not only the article made required reading for those interested in becoming a nurse but has to be provided to the patient (yes,patient, not client) and their family upon admission.The public needs to know what a nurse does exactly.Thank you for the realities of nursing you eloquently put in words.
Ruby, I've been in nursing since 1967, I'm retired now, but reading your article brought back memories of the good old days in my nursing career. I was never sorry I went to nursing school or worked as a nurse. Training was different then, exams easier, work was easier, got tougher as the years went by, but I loved my work all those years. Patients got sicker and older, new machines invented, and I had to get updated all the time with courses, conferences, etc. Nursing in hospital is very rewarding, although not an easy job. You have to be a special person to do it.